“Don’t give her any ideas.” My hand whips out and seizes the needles and pulses a volt of my power up the steel. A friendly electrical shock, that’s what Barb needs.

“Ow, fuck!” She flinches and shakes her hand, then stares at me, wide-eyed. I’m one of Them. One of the Weird Ones. Don’t ask me why, but I don’t think she likes me. “Why don’t you hit the road, you freaky slut.”

Brand grins, a lot less comradely. “I’ll catch you later, Abby. You should go.”

“Later,” I say as they stand in the street, glaring daggers at each other. A shining example of how love and hate tangle with passion, whereas indifference means the affair is truly over.

I climb into Hi-Ho Silver, turn the ignition. I don’t make a habit of grappling strange men in front of their jealous ex-girlfriends. I’ve got too much respect and sympathy for women. Even a psychopath like Barb.

I drive away from Emeryville, wondering whether I will catch Brand later. I kind of want to, even though he’s a cad. He’s got magic, oh yeah.

I should catch Brand later only after he’s moved to a place of his own. I want to meet up with Barb’s knitting needles a second time like I want an ice pick plunged in my chest.

And what about him staying with her? Isn’t that a little cruel when she so clearly hopes for a reconciliation and he so clearly doesn’t? Do I really want to connect with this user?

Brand plays a lot of games. Games I’m not ready to play. I’m on a rebound of my own devising after leaving Daniel.

First things first. Land the job, line up a paycheck. Register for school, start the class. Never forget what my mother told me on her deathbed. My survival depends on learning to master my power. Survival against the Horde when they finally come looking for me.

I feel feverish, my cheeks and my forehead burning. When I glance in the rearview mirror, my face is the color of a boiled lobster. Brand’s great big bear hug left little to wonder about and much to fantasize.

So why did I pull over to the shoulder and slam on the brakes? Why spill my life story inside of five minutes? What did our clasped hands do? Why didn’t I mind he was being disingenuous, lying, jerking me around? And why do I feel so feverish?

What has Brand done to me?

You see? I set one foot outside of Buckeye Heights, and a foxy sorcerer is trying to enchant me.

The Garden of Abracadabra, Volume 1 of the Abracadabra Series (Bast Books)is onNook and Kindle with a print edition planned for late 2013.

“So refreshing. . . .This is Stephanie Plum in the world of Harry Potter”

This just in from Goodreads!Alan writes: “I loved the writing style and am hungry for more.:D”Fun and Enjoyable Urban Fantasy January 12, 2012
By D. Pflaster
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very entertaining novel- sort of a down-to-earth Harry Potter with a modern adult woman in the lead. Even as Abby has to deal with mundane concerns like college and running the apartment complex she works at, she is surrounded by supernatural elements and mysteries that she is more than capable of taking on. Although this book is just the first in a series, it ties up the first “episode” while still leaving some story threads for upcoming books. I’m looking forward to finding out more.

New!On a budget these days? Who isn’t!

The Garden of Abracadabra, Volume 1 of the Abracadabra Series is also available as The Garden of Abracadabra Trilogy so you can read the Omnibus Edition at your leisure in affordable installments.

In Book I, Life’s Journey, Abby arrives in Berkeley, filled with hope and promise, hoping to land a new job and start magic college, when she stumbles upon a supernatural multiple murder scene. On Nook and Kindle.

In Book 2, In Dark Woods, Abby is drawn into a dangerous murder investigation and torn between three men, Daniel Stern, her ex-fiance, Jack Kovac, an enigmatic FBI agent, and Prince Alastor, a potent supernatural man who lives in the penthouse. On Nook and Kindle.

In Book 3: The Right Road,Abby uncovers ancient supernatural secrets behind the murders and faces dangers and challenges ahead. On Nook and Kindle.

From the author of Summer of Love, A Time Travel (a Philip K. Dick Award finalist and San Francisco Chronicle Recommended Book) on Nook and Kindle, and The Gilded Age, A Time Travel (a New York Times Notable Book and New York Public Library Recommended Book) on Kindle and Nook.